Vehicle information displays are installed in dashboards and in other interior surfaces of vehicles to convey information to vehicle operators. Displayed information can include vehicle operating parameters such as vehicle speed, fuel level, engine temperature, oil pressure, parking brake engagement, and other information that would be of potential interest to a vehicle operator. In addition to informing the operator of vehicle parameters, information displays can also display warning signals when the operating parameters meet certain predetermined criteria. The displayed warning signals use icons, text, or both to alert the operator to the detected condition.
Warnings signals can indicate conditions of varying severity. For example, some warning signals, such as “Interaxle Diff Lock Under 25 MPH,” “Check Engine,” and “Low Coolant,” indicate non-critical conditions that do not require immediate attention. Other warning signals, such as “Stop Engine,” “King Pin Unlocked,” and “Park Brake While Moving” indicate conditions that require the vehicle operator to take immediate action to avoid potentially unsafe operating conditions. In order to differentiate warning signals that indicate critical conditions from those that indicate non-critical conditions, warning signals are displayed in different colors. For example, critical warning signals are displayed in red, while non-critical warning signals are displayed in yellow.
As vehicles have become more complex, the number of operating conditions of which operators must be aware has increased substantially. As a result, at any given time, it may be necessary to display several warning signals. However, a problem exists in that the limitations in the display area size of known displays often precludes the display of all active warnings at a given time.